The Heart of the Ocean
A Festival of Honor

" I wish you were the person,

you thought you were, too.”

- Rachel Wolchin

The music was extremely loud. Mr. Brown continued to strum the violin to the rhythm of a traditional song, ignoring the fact that he has absolutely no talent for music. Aide wanted to cry at the awful sound –someone should take the instrument from him before he’d completely destroy their ears. However, no one else seemed to be annoyed –people were dancing carelessly and singing along to the familiar tune. Aide blamed the alcohol –most of them were completely wasted already.

The day of the Festival had finally arrived, giving everyone the break they needed. The excitement of the villagers had skyrocketed, although Aide wasn’t sharing their feelings. She just wanted to lay under her soft blanket and sleep until the next morning. She was exhausted both physically and mentally –she couldn’t wait for the celebration to end and head home.

She stabbed angrily a piece of apple pie letting her fork on it –she’d have to wait at least two hours before finally leaving. As Nana Alexandra had warned her, she’d raise questionable eyebrows if she left earlier. For God’s sake! Why couldn’t people mind their own business? She was tired and she wanted to leave –why should she give an explanation about it? Sometimes she hated living in a village with a burning passion.

“Hey!“, Aileen whispered from her side, “Look who is coming our way.”

Gloria Steel was walking towards their table with her head held high. Her beige dress was paired with a pearl necklace and high heels, making her stand out in the crowd. Aide couldn’t help but scoff –is she attending a Festival or a wedding? Someone almost bumped into her while dancing, making her shout angrily at them and push them away. Like mother, like son was all Aide could think.

“Alexandra”, she greeted sharply.

“Gloria”, Nana smiled smugly at her.

“Congratulations on your dessert”, she mumbled through clenched teeth, “It seems that you have outdone yourself this year.”

“As all the years before, madam Mayor”, Alexandra reminded her while laughing.

“Whatever”, she dismissed her quickly, “Perhaps, you should focus on teaching your granddaughter some manners instead of cooking.”

Aide could feel her blood boiling, before taking a swing out of her beer. Alexandra seemed stupefied by the insult before she registered her words. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms above her chest.

“Excuse me?“, Nana was fuming.

“Aide, dear, Alastor told me the other day that you insulted him. You called him names out of nowhere –he didn’t even do anything!“, Gloria Steel sighed in disappointment, “Your whole behavior is so...unladylike. The way you talk, drink, and dress are suited for a sailor, not for a lady. I guess having no parents does that to you –they didn’t teach you how to be a proper woman.”

Nana gasped at her words –Aileen’s eyes widened in shock beside her. Aide stood up slowly, facing the woman that dared to insult her. She could feel herself shaking from anger, yet she didn’t let herself show it. She took a hold of her beer and drank it all in one go in front of her. Gloria couldn’t help but widen her eyes in shock at her behavior, believing that the girl would back down and say nothing at her.

“My parents taught me to be a strong, independent woman”, Aide stated firmly, “And my Nana taught me to take nobody’s shit.”

“Your language-”

“Yet, you couldn’t teach your son to not be an infuriating asshole who cannot take no for an answer”, Aide smirked, “No, you made him a piece of shit that sexually harass girls, bullies them, and hits them. How aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

“You little bitch...“, Gloria muttered furiously.

“Now now, be careful madam Mayor”, Aide teased her, “You sound so...unladylike.”

Before the angry woman could reply, two people bumped into her making her screech. They obviously had too many drinks that night and were drunk out of their minds. One of them was holding a glass of red wine, which happened to escape his hold and stain the front of Gloria Steel’s expensive dress. Aide couldn’t help but feel satisfaction at the shocked expression that decorated her face. The two men seemed to find their actions extremely funny as they laughed hysterically, while Gloria Steel started to scream angrily at them.

“Look, Harold! Look!“, she yelled as she ran to her husband.

“My dear”, Alexandra rubbed her back comfortably, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Nana. Anyway, she won’t spoil our evening”, Aide smiled, knowing fully well she was lying.

“Let’s dance!“, she took hold of Aileen’s hand and guided her towards the dancing crowd.

Truth be told, she didn’t want to dance or sing. She had enough for socializing in one day –she just wanted to head home. The words of Gloria Steel stung badly. Aide knew she was an awful woman –she shouldn’t let her get under her skin. However, she couldn’t control her feelings –sometimes they were too strong to ignore. So, she did what she did best –she pretended. She gave everyone a brilliant smile and soothing words, making them believe she was completely fine with what had happened. Her armor was strong, even though the knight inside was crying in loneliness.

Along the way, a foreign hand gripped her arm. Aide turned, only to come face to face with a grinning Petra. The brunette rolled her eyes playfully before dancing to the rhythm. They moved along the notes until they were sweating like crazy and their feet couldn’t stand anymore. When they returned back to their seats, they felt that they were being watched.

“Aileen!“, Petra whispered-yelled, “Alastor hasn’t taken his eyes from you the whole night.”

Aide raised an eyebrow at her words –was she for real? How could she be so inconsiderate? Petra was well aware that Aileen wanted nothing to do with him –the guy was an asshole that kept making her uncomfortable. Aide wanted to smack her on the spot, but Aileen’s trembling form beside her took her attention.

“Not again...Can’t I ever have a moment of peace without him?“, the red-haired whispered hoarsely.

“Apparently not”, Aide murmured irritated, “Some people just don’t get it, do they?”

He was leaning casually on a stone wall surrounded by his group of friends. His gaze never wavered from her friend’s form. Aide felt sick to her stomach –the nerve of this dude! Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

“You could give him a chance you know? If you get to know him, perhaps you’ll like him...“, Petra said absent-mindedly.

Oh, no...she did not! Aide could feel her cheeks becoming hot from anger. She gave a sharp, unforgiving gaze to the blonde making her shrink in her seat. How could she say something like that? What was wrong with her? She knew Petra could be a real pain in the ass at times, but she didn’t know she was completely inconsiderate!

“No... no, I won’t”, Aileen answered timidly at P –obviously shocked by her words.

“Why won’t you? I mean you can’t deny how handsome he is”, Petra questioned twirling a strand of her golden hair around her finger.

“He is too arrogant and immature”, Aide’s voice was shaking in anger, “And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.”

“Sometimes, I feel like the only reason he is after me is that I’m the only one not wanting him”, Aileen agreed with her, hoping that Petra would drop the conversation.

It wasn’t long before Alastor decided to pay them a visit. He drank the last remains of his beer and stomped on his cigarette quickly. Aide could feel Aileen becoming more nervous with each step. As he made his way towards their table, the red-haired seemed a few moments away from crying.

“Run”, Aide said pushing her friend to stand up, “We’ll distract him.”

Aileen stood up hesitantly, giving a thankful smile to her friends. As she disappeared in the crowd, Aide could only hope that she’d safely arrive home soon. Turning around, she came face to face with the blonde sitting beside her. Her anger resurfaced as soon as she realized P was checking out Alastor’s form as he walked towards them.

“I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you”, Aide stated firmly, “You know he’s a terrible man.”

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t handsome”, Petra shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t care about his looks –his soul is rotten”, Aide was quick to remind her.

“Aide-”

“I don’t care –do what you want. You want him? Go for him. It is your choice”, Aide whispered-yelled at her, “However, you know what he did to Aileen –he’s making her uncomfortable. So, the least you can do is care for your friend and keep him away from her.”

“It was just a conversation”, Petra defended herself, “He wasn’t even here!”

“It doesn’t matter!“, Aide pointed a finger at her, “You put her in an unpleasant position –you better apologize after that!”

Before Petra could talk, Aide focused on the man attempting to walk by them. She stood up quickly, taking hold of Alastor’s arm. The fucking nerve! He was going to take the path Aileen had used to head home!

“Where do you think you’re going?“, she asked harshly.

“What do you think you’re doing?“, he looked angrily at her tight grip.

“I’m saving my friend from being stalked by an infuriating asshole”, Aide smiled sweetly, “Now, get lost!”

He suddenly took hold of the back of her head, gripping her tightly. To everyone else, it seemed like a friendly gesture. Aide knew a threat when she saw one. He gave her a sinister smile, before leaning a bit closer.

“I’m sick and tired of dealing with you”, he muttered to her ear, “I think it’s time for you to stop these antics. It would be a terrible accident if you fell in the sea.”

Aide could feel a shiver going down her spine.

“Poor, Aide Marina Clayton”, he chuckled, “She didn’t know how to swim.”

“I’ll go to the police”, Aide smirked at him, “And then-”

“And then, what?“, he laughed at her words, “You think they are going to believe you? I’m the Mayor’s son -I come from a good, rich family and have hordes of girls falling on their knees for me. You think they are going to listen to the orphan with the weird grandmother over me?”

Aide could only look away as he continued to laugh. She hated him –she hated how right he was. No one would believe her –not when he had the support and trust of the villagers. To them, he was perfect –the most eligible bachelor of Seaworth, the man everyone wanted for their daughters. She would make a fool of herself.

As he walked away, she felt defeated and furious.

She could only hope that Aileen had safely arrived home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

End of chapter 18!!

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